[jeftrz]

Anyone pick one of these up yet?
It just may be a V1 killer!

New feature summary: It has built in GPS that monitors your speed and adjust the detector's sensitivity. It also remembers false alarm locations.

JT2

From
http://www.escortradar.com/9500i.htm

Our latest invention, the all-new PASSPORT 9500i, has revolutionized the radar detector category again. Its blistering performance is derived from the "World's Best" PASSPORT 8500 X50, which means it delivers the best protection possible against all speed measuring devices. We added advanced GPS-powered intelligence, which makes the PASSPORT 9500i the best performing, quietest and most user-friendly radar detector ever designed.


Features

360-degree radar and laser detection

Blistering All-Band Protection

New Variable-Speed Radar Performance

New GPS-Powered Truelock™ Filter - View Demo

New Mark Location Features - View Demo

New Speed Alert

New Crystal-Clear Voice Alerts

New Intelligent Volume Control

User-Selectable Preferences

High-Resolution Display

5 Levels of Brightness Control

Completely immune to the VG-2 "detector-detector"

Mute, AutoMute, & SmartMute

Built-in Earphone Jack

Safety Warning System

Comes Fully Equipped

[just4kickz]

howmuch?

-edit nevermind... 450

[teknochild]

the best thing about it is that false alarm muter, if you use the frequency display youll see that each place has its own distinct frequency, even within a band, so it only blocks that frequency out in that area, so even if you have a door putting out a k alert, if you mute it and then a cope with a k band gun camps there, it will still go off

except that that time instead of thinking its the door and not slowing down u slow down because u know its a cop

most cops arent smart enough to camp by a false alarm area though (or they dont care to)



one thing i wish they did that they could have easily, is have the unit save your speed for maybe a few minutes after an alert, that way you know if the cop got you or not

[bmviz]

Good features but high priced. Need more testing

[Ninjaneer]

Maybe in the future. For now I just recently got a perfectly working 8500 X50.

[teknochild]

lame, i went to order one today since my cars coming in soon and they are backordered past when my car will be here

[Ninjaneer]

Originally Posted by teknochild

lame, i went to order one today since my cars coming in soon and they are backordered past when my car will be here

Sticking with it or did you cancel as a result?

Just drive slowly till you get it... haha yea right

[BenMW]

i got mine already hardwired in my car.... The thing beeps maybe once a day im a little worried about that.

I pass cops and it doesn't go off but i think that it only goes off if your going over the speed limit.

[voerman]

I've had the 9500 for almost a week. I am a long time V1 owner so I will do a quick comparison. The 9500 has some quircks which are annoying but then so does the V1.

1) The hardwire cable for the V1 works on the 9500 so long as you don't use the remote readout for either.

2) The 9500's power socket is on the left side, the V1's on the right. As a result all my V1 hardwires are too short by a couple of inches - I made an adapter as a quick fix. Need to move the wires.

3) The 9500 has more modes than the V1. Running in auto sensitivity mode (slow speed = city, high speed = highway) the 9500 gets less false alarms than the V1 in "L" mode, independent of the GPS lockout function.

4) The GPS lockout function works very well - it is the way all radar detectors should be designed.

5) I really miss the V1's arrows.

6) The 9500 has an auto display brightness setting. On the V1, the display was bright in daylight and dim at night (perfect). The 9500's auto-bright setting is dim all the time. Even in bright sun light it is dim and I need to manually adjust the brightness. So the auto-bright feature is worthless.

7) The 9500 manual warns you to never ignore a POP alert, yet the unit ships with POP off by default. It is easy to turn on, but I wonder why they did that.

8) The 9500 is generally slower at aquiring the GPS signal than the BMW onboard navagation is. I have the 9500 mounted high on the widshield. This is not a big deal.

9) I have not tried the 9500 on the highway yet.

So - I like the 9500 and I like the V1, now if the best features of both could be combined into one unit - I would really like that unit.

Lou

[Ninjaneer]

voerman: thanks for the review!

Originally Posted by BenMW

i got mine already hardwired in my car.... The thing beeps maybe once a day im a little worried about that.

I pass cops and it doesn't go off but i think that it only goes off if your going over the speed limit.

Eh? Doubtful about it being a speed limit thing. Maybe they just didn't have their radars on that's all. And as voerman mentioned, sensitivity is affected by speed so maybe that's what you're experiencing... not driving fast enough for it to be super sensitive perhaps

[teknochild]

Originally Posted by Ninjaneer

voerman: thanks for the review!


Eh? Doubtful about it being a speed limit thing. Maybe they just didn't have their radars on that's all. And as voerman mentioned, sensitivity is affected by speed so maybe that's what you're experiencing... not driving fast enough for it to be super sensitive perhaps

actually it totally shuts off at something like 25mph

and yea i didnt order since it was backordered, i have a 8500 so its not like im totally unprotected, ill probably stick with my old one till they come out with a 9500 revision

[MacAttack]

Same here. I'll wait. Good review though.

[XxLancaxX]

Not even close to an old V1. You guys do realize that Valentine was the cofounder of passport and quit.........

Im sure its a decent radar but it still looks like junk to me. I had a passport 2 years ago the 7500.....It was ok but once you get a valentine, it doesnt get any better.......I feel blind when i drive with out the valentine...

[voerman]

Originally Posted by teknochild

actually it totally shuts off at something like 25mph

and yea i didnt order since it was backordered, i have a 8500 so its not like im totally unprotected, ill probably stick with my old one till they come out with a 9500 revision

The 9500 lets you select the sensitivity. There are three modes:

1) Highway - the most sensitive
2) City - X-band sensitivity is reduced (all other bands remain at full sensitivity)
3) Auto - sensitivity is determined by speed - at low speed, X and K-band sensitivity is reduced (not other bands) - at higher speeds, full sensitivity is restored. I don't know at what speed this switch occurs or if sensitivity is gradually increased as speed increases.

The detector never actually switches off, even when stoppped, I can see close X-band signals.

In addition to the above you can turn off each of the individual bands.

Lou

[smellthebeans]

Originally Posted by voerman

I've had the 9500 for almost a week. I am a long time V1 owner so I will do a quick comparison. The 9500 has some quircks which are annoying but then so does the V1.

1) The hardwire cable for the V1 works on the 9500 so long as you don't use the remote readout for either.

2) The 9500's power socket is on the left side, the V1's on the right. As a result all my V1 hardwires are too short by a couple of inches - I made an adapter as a quick fix. Need to move the wires.

3) The 9500 has more modes than the V1. Running in auto sensitivity mode (slow speed = city, high speed = highway) the 9500 gets less false alarms than the V1 in "L" mode, independent of the GPS lockout function.

4) The GPS lockout function works very well - it is the way all radar detectors should be designed.

5) I really miss the V1's arrows.

6) The 9500 has an auto display brightness setting. On the V1, the display was bright in daylight and dim at night (perfect). The 9500's auto-bright setting is dim all the time. Even in bright sun light it is dim and I need to manually adjust the brightness. So the auto-bright feature is worthless.

7) The 9500 manual warns you to never ignore a POP alert, yet the unit ships with POP off by default. It is easy to turn on, but I wonder why they did that.

8) The 9500 is generally slower at aquiring the GPS signal than the BMW onboard navagation is. I have the 9500 mounted high on the widshield. This is not a big deal.

9) I have not tried the 9500 on the highway yet.

So - I like the 9500 and I like the V1, now if the best features of both could be combined into one unit - I would really like that unit.

Lou

I bought one yesterday. the hardwire is compatible with my Beltronics detector, the wind shield mounts are identical...saved me 70 bucks on installation

So here are some other observations.

10) it Lets you mark known locations of speed traps, or red light intersections, photo radar/laser. It notifies you 1 mile in advance at 60mph and counts down until you arrive at the mark...then it counts up as you drive away

11) I plugged it into the USB port on my laptop to see what would happen. nothing happened. Your supposed to update the software or back up your marked locations, or download & install a data base. I am clueless as to how to perform this & it may not be avaliable yet.

12) It automaticly adjusts the alert volume based on the noise level in the car. Quiet when it needs to be and lounder when I am flexin the Logic 7.

13) Its BIG and bulky ....I used a beltronics 965 previously (a good radar detector for under 300). The 9500i is much larger and heavier. The reciver face/antenna/ front it large.

here is where I have it mounted.

This is the first top of the line radar detector I have ever had.

It's too early for me to make a recomendation...

[voerman]

I can add some comments to the ones I made above:

1) About once a month the 9500i falls off my windshield (I use the suction cup mount). I have never had this happen with the V1 (with its suction cup mount).

2) A lock out of a nuisance signal can also lock out police radar on the same band. This of course makes the location based lock out feature totally worthless. I complained to Escort and my 9500i is currently on the way back to them for a replacement. From reading other accounts on the web, I don't expect the new one to be any better.

3) Not having the V1 arrows on the highway is more of a pain than I first thought it would be.

4) Based on the above, I would rate the 9500i well below the V1.

Lou

[smellthebeans]

Originally Posted by voerman

I can add some comments to the ones I made above:

1) About once a month the 9500i falls off my windshield (I use the suction cup mount). I have never had this happen with the V1 (with its suction cup mount).

2) A lock out of a nuisance signal can also lock out police radar on the same band. This of course makes the location based lock out feature totally worthless. I complained to Escort and my 9500i is currently on the way back to them for a replacement. From reading other accounts on the web, I don't expect the new one to be any better.


Lou

Its only locks out that frequency not the entire band. Unless I am mistaken

[smellthebeans]

http://www.9500i.net

This site looks new.

How useful it will be reamains to be seen?

[voerman]

Originally Posted by smellthebeans

Its only locks out that frequency not the entire band. Unless I am mistaken

That is what their ads would have you believe, but it is my experience that blocking a K band nuisance signal blocked K band police radar at the same location. This has happened to me in two different locations miles apart. As a result, I can no longer trust the lockout function.

Escort agreed to replace my 9500 when I complained, but from what I have read, the band wide lockout is the result of a bad design and a new unit won't help.

See this youtube video:

Also a forum with more info: http://www.radardetector.net/viewtop...er=asc&start=0

Lou

[BMWMtech]

if u really wana avoid a ticket by a u.s army plate on the car. it costs 50 bucks more a year but has gotten me out of 2 tickets.

[smellthebeans]

Further research has led me to believe that the K band range is to narrow for the 9500i to succsfully filter out.

If you notice on the Utube video tests he filters out dead center of the band 24.15 Ghz...working in 0.3 Ghz segments it filters.

but when he locks out higher in the radio spectrum he is able to get the locking feature to work.

I suspect that Escort was is unable to find a filter that would reliably work and fit inside the cramped space?

I have not been able to get it to lock out Ka band:mad:

K-Band
The most frequently used radar frequency band: 24.05 - 24.25 GHz. K-band made its appearance in 1978. The first K-band hand-held radar guns could only be used from a stationary position. Later, a "pulsed" version was introduced that could be used from a stationary or moving vehicle.

K-band radar waves have a relatively small wavelength. At the power level found in police radar guns, K-band has an effective clocking range of about 1/4 mile. Depending upon terrain (around a corner, over a hill, etc.), K-band waves can be detected from a range of 1/4 mile to 2 miles.

[smellthebeans]

Originally Posted by BMWMtech

if u really wana avoid a ticket by a u.s army plate on the car. it costs 50 bucks more a year but has gotten me out of 2 tickets.

Cant really answer to that...I have not been pulled over (knock on wood). I suppose the DOD sticker on the windshield perhaps would suffice?

I purchased the radar more so to keep me honest with myself. I feel like the car often begs me to operate at much faster speeds. Not to mention overtaking slower traffic & dropping it down into 4th, in 3 or 4 seconds your approaching 90mph! & I have the "SLOW" E90.